Would You Eat 100-Year-Old Bread?

Baker plants rare strain of wheat from last century to bake bread

We’ve already introduced you to 5,000-year-old beer. How about some 100-year-old bread? Baker Ellen King, who owns Hewn Bakery in Evanston, Illinois, last year helped plant a rare strain of Marquis wheat, which hasn’t grown in the Midwest since the 1900s. Her goal? To mill enough of the harvest’s yield for the requisite flour to bake the bread.

King went as far to consult a geneticist at Washington State University’s Bread Lab, which researches thousands of types of grain—including wheat—to identify which ones will work best for farmers.

Read the story of planting the Marquis wheat here. Track King’s progress, or just buy a loaf of her bread, here.